Slayers: X Generation
by Howling WereWolf
Summary: Led by visions, mortal enemies engage in an all-out competition to reach their destination first.
1. Nightmares Part I: The Burning Village

**Slayers: X Generation**

**_Nightmares Part I: The Burning Village, and a Meeting_**

Howling WereWolf: YES!! It is finally UP and RUNNING!!!

Zantos: Uh-huh. Over the space of at least one month.

Howling WereWolf: Aw C'mon! I got mobbed by both the Blaster3.Worm and the W3. Welchia.worm!!!

Zantos: That's no excuse.

Howling WereWolf: BULLY!

Sean comes in. Howling WereWolf rams a stack of notes into his face.

Howling WereWolf: I don't care how you feel, just read the &$% disclaimer and stop picking on me!

Howling WereWolf storms out, slamming the door behind her. Sean glares at Zantos.

Sean: Leave her alone, will you?

Zantos: What? What did I do?

Disclaimer: I do not own Erin McAteer, Ishii Kiru or Rezaru. Erin's dream, and anything else not belonging to either character, is mine though, so *cough*bugger-off*cough*. XP

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Erin McAteer sat by herself before a table in the inn.

The innkeeper returned with her placed order of ramen and fried wings. She would have preferred a nice plate of rice with Soya Sauce, but one has to live with what he [or she for the matter] got.

"New here and passing through?" The elderly man asked matter-of-factly.

Erin nodded before forking up a mouthful of ramen.

Around her were the sounds of bustling activity. With her sharp ears, she heard a pottery stall vendor flaunting his stuff from behind; a group of boys playing a wild game of tag to the right outside; two men discussing politics at the table in front....

_All I would give to be back in some nice serene forests... _Erin groaned inwardly. _What am I doing out here anyway?_

Then the pattering of shoeless feet hailed the arrival of another person.

The innkeeper barely looked up as he polished an empty table. "Go ahead. Just don't scare away my business, alright?"

The pattering continued. It got louder and louder, and came to another sudden stop. Erin looked up over the noodles.

A child squatted on the floor beside the next table, his large hazel eyes glued to the platters of food. He dribbled as the man at the table - a man whose silver hair hid his eyes from view - drank a bowlful of soup.

The man stopped drinking, wiped the corner of his lips with his sleeve, and looked down at the boy. He reached across the table, selected a large chicken drumstick and held it out. The boy literally squeaked with immense delight and dug in. Erin let a small smile play along the corner of her lips as she watched him messily devour the meat.

The man suddenly looked up at her with his own smile, strangely mysterious in nature. "**_Better be careful._**"

After the voice had barely drifted away, Erin was momentarily blinded by a flash of white light.

As the light faded, Erin felt her stomach lurch.

It was the same village, and she was standing in the exact spot where she had been eating earlier in the inn. There was something different besides the dark sky: Every house and structure was illuminated with fire.

The inn had become nothing more than charred wood and ashes. Burnt bodies were strewn all over the place. Screams were mercilessly pounding on her eardrums as those who were alive tried to save whatever and whoever they could.

Erin looked up. Standing before her was a stranger in a dark-colored cloak with the hood covering his - her maybe? - features. At the stranger's feet lay that same little boy in a pool of blood, with more of the thick red liquid dripping off a sword with simple yet magnificent markings in the stranger's hand.

Erin gritted her teeth. Her eyes became like two orbs of blue flame, burning with anger. "Was it you who did this?"

The stranger's mouth, the only visible thing on his/her face, betrayed no emotion.

"ANSWER ME!" Erin demanded, the fury now evident even in her voice. She unsheathed her sword in a single sharp movement, ready to extort a reply from the one before her.

A crescent-shaped blade flashed before her. It stopped short of her neck and hovered there like a shiny necklace. Erin was aware of someone behind her, but the only clue she got was a few strands of silver hair that the wind blew against her face.

**_"I'll be waiting...."_**

Erin felt a sharp blow delivered to her back, and her vision was clouded once again.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Erin."

Something warm touched Erin's shoulder and gently shook her. "Erin. Wake up."

Erin groaned before prying her reluctant eyelids back. Slowly, the blur of different colors settled back into focus, and Ishii Kiru's face was suspended over hers.

"You fell out of the tree again." Kiru stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, I know." Erin rubbed her sore back. It had happened again. That same nightmare had been heckling her for over a week.

"You seem troubled." Kiru remained seated on the floor, his bluish-green eyes following Erin as she stood up and dusted herself off. "Wanna talk about it?"

"What, are you a good listener?"

"Nope, but Fruitcake-chan is." Kiru finally got up. "I can go get him if you want to talk."

"Speaking of which," Erin looked around while neatening her slightly creased outfit. "Where is Rover?"

Kiru shrugged. "Swimming in the river."

_Typical._ Erin once again wondered to herself what had weakened her to accept the company of a flatfish-lover and an overgrown talking pooch. About one or two days after her recurring nightmare, she had met the bubbly duo on the forest path, and they had been tagging along ever since.

"Oh look. Here he comes now."

Sure enough, the wolf-troll Rezaru surfaced and shook himself thoroughly before walking up the bank. He held up a glistening fish in one furred hand. "A herring for your thoughts?"

"I'm fine."

"Your scent tells me otherwise." Rezaru's jaws parted into a small smile. "I can smell discomfort within you that has no outlet."

Erin stared at Rezaru a long while, before she looked skeptically at Kiru. "Are you sure that the two of you aren't related?"

= * =

The second chapter will look a little similar. With any luck, it will be longer, so bear with me.

~Howling WereWolf

= * = * = * =


	2. Nightmares Part II: The Dark Void

**Slayers: X Generation**

**_Nightmares Part II: The Dark Void_**

Howling WereWolf: Yuppie!! 2nd chapter up!!!!

Zantos: Finally!!! You've shoved me somewhere in your senseless plot!!!!!

Sean sees veins once again popping all over Howling WereWolf's head. He quickly exits with notes in hand.

Sean: I'll just leave you two alone and read the disclaimer.

DISCLAIMER - I do not own the wonderful Aymes Yume Metallium, Xelloss Metallium and the oh-so-adorable Yume Yuig Metallium. I also do not own Slaal. But YES! Zantos is mine! However, I might be willing to trade him in for any available Trigun Manga. (No ownership rights for Sean the patsy)

Zantos: HEY!!

Sean: ......all the thanks I get......

HW: QUIET! On with the story!

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Zantos scratched the back of his head and yawned. It was yet another day on Wolf Pack Island. He reached over to the right side of his bed, grabbed his chair and lifted himself in. Normally, he would just cast Levitation, but he did not feel like any magic this early in the morning. He pulled on a light brown shirt and a pair of trousers before he exited the empty room. His gloves and vest could wait.

He pulled himself to a halt in front of the next door, leading to the room shared by Aymes and Xelloss. He thought he had heard something.

Zantos placed an ear closer to the door, and confirmed his suspicions.

Aymes was having nightmares again.

_Better wake her before it gets worse._ Zantos reached for the door.

"Uncle Zantos, what are you doing?"

Zantos looked behind him at a small girl with a cascading flow of pink hair, long for her age. He smiled at her. "Morning, little Princess. Aren't you an early riser today!"

"Are you going to go in and bother Mommy again?" Little Yume, daughter of Aymes and Xelloss, probed further.

"Bother her? Now why would I do a thing like that?" Zantos put up his most innocent face.

Yume did her best to look solemn. "Mommy doesn't think it is nice of you to bother her."

"Ah. Indeed. It isn't." Zantos picked Yume up and put her on his lap. "But your Daddy says that us Mazoku aren't nice people. Am I right?"

Yume thought for a while. "Yeah. He does."

"Since Mazoku aren't nice people, they would do things that aren't nice, right?"

"Right."

"There you are. It's okay for me to go in. Get it now, little Princess?"

Yume calculated this and nodded. "Yeah.....I think."

"Care to tell me what's going on so early in the morning?" Zantos distracted the little girl from considering it any further.

"Uncle Slaal was eating a rat!" Yume made a face and stuck out her tongue. "Icky!"

Zantos chuckled as he set Yume back on the floor. "Here's your first mission for today: Run along now and get your Daddy here as fast as you can. You up to it?"

"I'm on it!" Yume ran off and out the open door, where Xelloss probably had gone.

Zantos' retained his sunshine face, using it to mask his worry, as he went into the room. He was indeed worried about Aymes. She had been having nightmares for at least a week now, and it wasn't healthy.

Aymes and Xelloss had always been like family to him, and he hated anything bad to happen to either of them.

He went right over to Aymes, who was still in fitful sleep, and held his hand over her face. _Guess I'll be using magic so early in the morning after all._

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Aymes woke to the feel of cold ice on her cheeks. Her eyes snapped open to see Zantos' forever grinning face. 

"What are you doing in here?"

"Oh, I'm just serving my role as your personal-but-unofficial gallant wake-up service." Zantos seized his spell and shook her blanket. "Up and at 'em! Everyone is out of bed except you!"

She frowned irritably, her dream having put her in a bad mood. "Well, I don't appreciate your so-called 'gallant wake-up service'. Now get out."

When Zantos didn't move or change his facial expression, it incensed her further. "Come on, Get Out!!"

Zantos looked back at Aymes with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Now now, your Highness." He waved his finger in a mock-reprimanding way. "Short-temperedness not only doesn't suit you, but it is also the very first sign of pregnancy."

Aymes sputtered and went a dark shade of red, promptly loss for words. Zantos had that I'm-full-of-evil-and-I-know-everything grin on his face.

Just in time, Xelloss came in trailed by bouncy little Yume. "I don't think you should be joking about something like that, Zantos."

"Why not?"

"Some readers don't find it funny, and you're giving people the wrong idea."

"Aha."

"Anyway." Xelloss cleared his throat. "Please go out, and do whatever horrible thing you must with your accomplice Slaal. And take Yume with you."

"But Daddy-" Yume started to protest. Zantos scooped her up before she could finish and winked at Xelloss. "Know something? I'm kinda hungry, so I'm outta here! Let's go, Princess!"

With that, Zantos zipped from the room at super-nova speed with Yume riding atop his shoulders ("WHEEEEEEEE!!!!").

Xelloss closed the door after them before turning his attention to his wife. "What's on your mind, Aymes?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been having that dream again."

Aymes looked up. "You know?"

Xelloss simply nodded in reply. He crossed the room and sat on the bed with Aymes. "You want to talk about it?"

Aymes sighed. Slowly but calmly, she told him all about the dream that had been replaying every night for so long.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

_Cold, empty darkness everywhere._

_The earth and the sky were the same dull color: misty gray._

_It was like an abandoned battlefield during the war which eventually led to The Monsters' Fall._

_To the daughter of the Beast Master and veteran of that war, this was nothing new._

_Aymes could smell the heavy stench of blood that hung in the air._

_Making her way around the crumbled remains of a stone monument, she entered the village._

_Or what was left of it._

_A small feeble cough prompted the presence of residents._

_As Aymes' eyes adjusted, about a dozen villagers appeared before her, either limping through debris in search of unknown items or sitting with their backs to whatever large fragment that was smooth and stood upright. It was a very sorry sight._

_Then Aymes heard a sob. A small, plaintive cry that would have been missed or ignored by anyone else._

_Aymes looked to her right. Squatting with face buried in his hands and head covered with a filthy blanket was a small child, a boy to be exact. His clothes were tattered, torn and stained beyond comprehension, and his blanket appeared to be the only decent covering he had._

_Aymes figured that this young one had lost his parents either before or during the chaos that had turned this place upside down. If she had been younger and more on the open road, she wouldn't have cared. But now she was a recent parent to a daughter of her own, and she felt her warm maternal instincts flow through her._

_Aymes knelt beside the boy, and gently pulled back the blanket on his head. The boy looked up._

_Aymes found herself staring into the hollow black eye sockets of a skull._

_Taking a shocked step back, she realized the boy was nothing more than a skeleton covered with cloth._

_Aymes turned back to where she had last seen some of the villagers, and what met her eyes were more skeletons, all dry and fairly clean of flesh. Nothing moved, and there was not a living thing in sight._

_There was a flash of light, and a person appeared before her. Aymes was unsure if this person was man or woman, or even human to begin with. This stranger donned a dark-colored cloak with the hood covering all facial features apart from the mouth. The hand grasped a magnificent sword, intricate markings drawn permanently onto the blood-covered blade._

_"**Better be careful.**"_

_Aymes ducked just in time as a shining sickle zoomed through the air and nearly claimed the top half of her head. She glared behind her, in the direction where it had headed._

_The sickle was now brandished in the hand of yet another person. His hood and long silver hair obscured the view of his own eyes. His lips curled into a mocking smirk on his face._

_"**I'll be waiting.**"_

_Before Aymes could even blink, the cloaked figure had somehow come up closer. This time, he was standing beside the mysterious swordfighter._

_The swordfighter slowly raised the sword high in the air, and brought it down again at lightning speed, aimed directly for Aymes._

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"And then Zantos goes and wakes me up."

Aymes groaned and slumped back. Beneath her spiteful words, she felt a small twinge of gratitude that the boy did what he did. She wasn't all too keen on finding out where that sword would go, or any other probable gruesome details.

"So what do you think, Xelloss?"

"Sounds like a vision to me, Aymes."

Aymes propped herself up. "All right. So now we know what it is, how do we deal with it?"

Xelloss rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I'm considering a nice little family trip out to that village and check it out. Wherever it is."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Slaal looked up from the table. "Morning Princess. Hey Zan. What's happening?"

"Aw, nothing that tastes good." Slaal was visibly less interested. Zantos grinned and leaned on the wooden back of his chair as Yume slid onto his lap. "But spring blossoms are everywhere, the birds are singing and the bees are buzzing. What are you doing?"

Slaal held up a mouse by the tail. "We were having a staring contest. He was winning until you came in."

"You shouldn't play with your food, Man-Trap." Zantos grabbed a doughnut and spun it on his finger before popping it in his mouth.

"Speak for yourself, Horse-Cart." Slaal retorted casually. Yume giggled.

Zantos grinned and held up another doughnut. "You dare mock me, Dracula?"

Slaal raised the squeaking mouse. "Come at me, Spoke-Boy. I fear you not."

"Food fight!" Yume cheered.

Noir flew in and landed on Zantos' head. He cawed a few times, and Zantos translated. "Aymes and Xelloss want us to finish eating and pack it up. We're gonna hit the road soon." With a sigh, he crammed the doughnut down his jaws.

Slaal nodded and upturned the mouse, exposing its underside. He had given up trying to discover how Zantos could understand every word Aymes' raven said a long time ago.

= * =

Howling WereWolf is singing and rocking back and forth while sitting on her desk.

Howling WereWolf: ......I'm a cow. Hear me moo. I look good on a barbecue..... (song not mine, so STAY BACK!!!)

Sean: What's the occasion?

Zantos: Ignore her. She got stressed out and is suffering identity crisis.

Howling WereWolf rocks so hard she falls clear off the desk, but she doesn't stop singing.

Howling WereWolf: .......He said to her, "I'd like a cheeseburger, and I might like a milkshake as well."......... (not mine either, so BACK OFF!!!)

Zantos: Now she's just blabbering.

Sean: ..........Ok.........

Zantos hands Sean a slip of paper.

Zantos: Here. You got another two notes to read. And call the nut wagon while you're up.

NOTICE A - Slaal doesn't really eat rodents. He just drinks their blood, cos' he's the Vampire.

NOTICE B - Ah. Yes. Happiness reigns. This chapter is nice and long, and probably the longest one I'll ever do for quite a while.

= * = * = * =


	3. The Meeting

**Slayers: X Generation**

**_The Meeting_**

HW: And YES! The 3rd chapter is finally here!

All characters: -_- zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

HW: HELLO!!! WAKE UP ALREADY!!!

All characters: -_- zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

HW: Sean! What's going on here?

Sean: They all died in their sleep while waiting for your update.

HW: ¬_¬ Ha ha. Very funny. Now what **really** happened?

Sean: Zantos laced the cappuccino supply with pixie sticks last night.

Howling WereWolf groans before shoving more papers in Sean's face.

HW: You just do your job and read the disclaimer. And fetch a bucket of ice on your way back.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

_**Disclaimer - I do not own Sarito Sanyan, Elayne, Donal, Eyan dal Faili and all their personal belongings. Now give me a minute while I recall who and what else I don't own....**_

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"...What is love? 'tis not hereafter, Present mirth hath present laughter...."

A large red apple was tossed absentmindedly in the air. Gravity returned it to the waiting hand, after which its owner took a large bite from the white crunchy flesh beneath.

"What's to come is still unsure; In delay there lies no plenty...."

Sarito Sanyan paused in his poem recital to let out a hearty belch.

"Then come kiss me, sweet and twenty, Youth's a stuff will not endure........ Ah yes. This is the life. O Mother of Poetry, how great thou art." Chuckling, he helped himself to another mouthful of the fruit.

There was an audible 'bonk' as another apple connected with Sarito's head.

Sarito rubbed the sore spot on his head and looked back at his three traveling companions. "Elayne, that hurt."

"It was supposed to, you nut." Elayne growled back. "You got us lost in the middle of the forest, and you still have the mood to eat and recite poems?"

Sarito took another bite from his apple. "My brain needs sustenance and exercise in order to work properly. Won't you agree that it's pretty pointless to get mad over nothing?"

Veins popped all over Elayne's head. She reached over and yanked Sarito forward by his shirt front. "We've been stuck here for an entire week slap bang in the middle of the rainy season, getting mobbed by random trolls, werewolves and other freakish beings, and you say I'm getting mad over nothing?!"

Her anger streak near its end, Elayne dropped Sarito on his butt and stormed off ahead.

Sarito blinked, then smoothed out his crumpled shirt. "Still in a rotten mood, I see."

"Elayne! Wait!" The ever-protective Donal ran to catch up with his sister.

Eyan sighed and pulled Sarito back onto his feet. "Come on. Before we lose those two in the middle of nowhere."

"Are you sure that won't be a good thing?"

"I heard that, Sanyan!"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

**_Disclaimer - .....Let's see......I do not own Kyoko Usimo, Sophia Livana, 'Ren' Aiirenai Taro, all their personal belongings.....I think that's about it._**

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"You think that's the last of them?"

Sophia Livana kicked an unconscious sorcerer into a clump of bushes. "For now, yeah."

A long waterfall of white flanked by two similarly colored braids dangled from a tree as their owner hung upside down from the branches. "Who needs the thrill of the chase with these nutcases around?" There was a loud sigh followed by the rustle of leaves as the body of another sorcerer fell to the ground. "My life sucks."

"Ren." Sophia addressed the individual in the tree. "These Shodin sorcerers are my enemies, not yours or Kyoko's. If they're really bothering you, I can travel alone."

"Drop the idea, Sophia." Kyoko Usimo joined her under the tree. "The three of us are a team. Your problem is our problem, and your enemies are our enemies. We're not going to walk away just because a couple of Shodin bother us."

There was more rustling or leaves and a rush of air as 'Ren' Aiirenai Taro leapt down from her perch. "Come on. Let's get out of here before more of them come."

"I'm with you."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

_**Disclaimer - Both the clown's songs from Twelfth Night are not mine!**_

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"That apple tree up front looks familiar." Donal commented.

"It should." Elayne groaned. "This is probably the fifth time we're gonna walk past it."

"You mean the fourth, Elayne." Eyan corrected her before picking an apple. "At least we don't have to worry about our food supply."

"When I was but a little tiny boy, with a hey ho the wind and the rain *crunch* the foolish thing was but a toy, for the rain it raineth every day."

"Sarito's singing this time." Donal made another comment.

"Alright, enough is enough." Elayne swiped one of Eyan's books ("Hey! My book!") and hurled it at the back of Sarito's head.

Sarito ducked, and the book zoomed into a nearby bush. There was a loud 'whack', a strangled cry plus a rustle of leaves as someone from within the bush plopped into view with blood trickling out his nose.

"Oh, fun." Eyan's eyes widened in shock. "Elayne, I think you just killed somebody."

Sarito turned around and scratched the top of his head. "Oh well, better him than me. Wonder what's with that weird getup he's wearing?"

More leaves rustled. In a flash, at least ten more people dressed in similar attire rose from the bushes, all poised for different spells.

"It looks like he's got friends....."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Wait! Listen!"

Kyoko, Ren and Sophia froze in the spot, silently waiting.

"Shodin." Sophia confirmed. "And some travelers caught in the mess."

"Come on!" Kyoko drew her katana. "We have to help!"

"My life seriously sucks big time."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"What did I ever do to you?!" Sarito shouted as he dodged a flare arrow sent his way.

"ACK!" Donal leapt to one aside as a fireball shot past and set a nearby bush on fire. "Watch where you're casting those things!"

"Can't the lot of you get over a badly aimed book?!" Elayne barely blocked with her dagger as one of the men attempted to fight using physical means.

"Which happened to be mine!" Eyan reminded as he wrestled his opponent away.

"Who asked you?!"

"I'm just about sick of this....." Donal growled as he drew his hands back. "FIREBALL!"

Donal's opponent was finally silenced as he lay in a blackened heap.

Elayne caught on and kicked her own opponent away. "Eat ice you jerk! FREEZE ARROW!"

Eyan blinked as the man he was fighting was suddenly pulled up into a tree. The was a series of muffled thumps before he reappeared battered, bruised and unconscious.

A smirking white-haired girl jumped out of the tree. "Bet he didn't know what hit him."

Eyan looked from the fallen man to the girl that had just appeared. "Err.....T-Thanks."

Elayne watched in surprise as her opponent screamed and clutched at his shoulder. Sticking out of it was an arrow. She looked in the most likely direction it had come from, and saw a girl with dirty-blonde hair clutching a white bow. The girl smiled as she was joined by another female with black hair.

"Need a hand?"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

After what seemed like ages, the last Shodin sorcerer fell into the gathering pile on one side of the forest path.

"Healed or no, that's gonna be sore in the morning." Sarito winced as he rubbed a sore spot on his arm. "Hey. Thanks for the help."

"No problem. We were planning on fighting those guys anyway." The blonde-haired girl grinned. "I'm Kyoko Usimo. These are my friends Sophia Livana and 'Ren' Aiirenai Taro."

"I'm Sarito Sanyan. Behind me are Elayne, Donal and Eyan dal Faili. Where are you headed?"

"New Sairaag." Sophia replied.

"Same here." Sarito brightened visibly. "Say, wanna travel together?"

"Sounds like a good idea. These Shodin here won't attack so frequently if we're in a bigger group." Kyoko commented. "What do you guys think?"

Sophia nodded her agreement. Ren shrugged, believing in the less trouble, the better. As the others muttered approval, a new group was officially formed to set out and leave the forest behind as soon as possible.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

_**Disclaimer - Oh yes....I also do not own the plot bunnies.**_

= * =

#BONK#

Sean: Ow......

HW: _**SAVE THE PLOT BUNNIES!!!!!!!!!**_

= * = * = * =


	4. Christmas 2003: Off The Slayers Sets

**Slayers: X Generation**

**_Season's Greetings: Off The Slayers' Sets_**

"Well, time to get back to work, eh?" Slaal walked out into the open air Howler Studio. He promptly sank to his waist with a 'whophf' sound. "What the.....?"

Not too far away, Sean's legs stuck out from a few feet of snow. "This was not included in my contract in any way...."

"You don't have one. Go figure." Zantos floated over to them with Yume perched atop his shoulders. He reached down and pulled Sean out by the right leg. "Need a hand?"

"No. I need my sense of balance." Sean grunted. "Cast a Raywing, will you?"

Zantos shrugged and complied.

Erin suddenly appeared in the far right corner with a loud 'poff'. "Has anyone seen my sword?"

"How about my poetry collection? Has anyone seen a little pink book?" Sarito called from a tree he had wisely chosen to stand upon. He stared back at all the others who were giving him strange looks. "What? My parents were the ones who bought it!"

A black hollow tube peeked out of the snow as it moved along in random zigzags and squiggly lines.

Curiously, Kiru stuck his finger down the tube.

There was a muffled gagging sound. Another 'poff' was heard as a slightly pale Rezaru appeared, wearing a black snorkel. He jerked off the mouthpiece and glared at Kiru. "Don't *do* that!"

"Sorry, man."

Rezaru pulled off the shock-proof bag from his back and zipped it open. "Okay, who wants to claim this little pink book that I found?"

"That'll be my poetry collection!" Sarito caught the book as Rezaru tossed it up. "Thanks!"

"This sword with a red-blue jewel?"

"Over here, Rez!" Erin held out her hands to meet the sword that flew over. "Grats!"

"How about this...." Rezaru raised an eyebrow. "Oversized dumbbell?"

"Mine, thanks!"

Rezaru decided against throwing it and instead passed it to its owner.

"Elayne, what were you planning to do with an oversized dumbbell?" Donal asked warily.

"This." Elayne drew back the dumbbell as far as she could before whacking it at the tree. Sarito promptly plummeted into the snow. Elayne smirked evilly. "Dang, that felt good."

"I think I lost my poetry collection again!"

"Crikey! Look what I found!" Kiru was half buried in snow and chipping away at something.

"What did you find?"

Kiru reappeared, proudly displaying his frozen prize. "A flatfish."

"In the Howler Studio? Where did the Chief get it?" Sean wondered.

Sarito righted himself and pulled out something wooden carefully. "Probably the same place she got this guitar. All who want to sing, say 'Aye'!"

"AYE!!!" All the males (plus Yume) hollered.

Sarito scurried back up to the top of the tree and strummed the guitar. "All together now: We started singing....."

"BYE, BYE, MISS AMERICAN PIE!!!!" A loud chorus of voices chimed, not in tune but in sync.

"Sheesh, Men." Ren shook her head.

"Give them fifteen minutes waist deep in snow, and they go legally insane on you." Sophia agreed.

"Come on. Let's get back indoors." Kyoko turned and led the way back to the door, brushing past the singing Slaal who was still just outside the doorway.

Aymes and Xelloss were inside, sipping hot chocolate. Xelloss smiled upon noticing the snow-drenched girls. "Oh, hello ladies. Care to join us?"

Erin blinked. "What are the two of you doing inside?"

"We listened in on the weather forecast before coming. Yume wanted to play in the snow, so she went out with Zantos." Aymes explained. She looked up at the clock. "Judging that traffic was a killer, and that filming is way past due, Howling WereWolf should arrive...just...about...now."

The door knob clicked as the door slid open, revealing a pissed Howling WereWolf. "What happened to everyone else?"

"Out singing in the snow." Kyoko answered.

"Snow?!" Howling WereWolf frowned. "This is Singapore! Singapore doesn't have snow!"

"Well, take a look for yourself."

Howling WereWolf trudged to the other side of the room and pulled open the door. There was a loud 'thunk' as her jaw hit the floor. "This. Can't. Be. Happening." Now she was severely pissed.

"AND A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!" The chorus ended their fifth song, all ready to start their sixth.

"ALL OF YOU!! SHUT UP, OR I'M TAKING YOU OFF MY CHRISTMAS LIST!!"

Silence sudden ensued. Sean looked up. "Chief? You don't have a Christmas list."

"So BITE ME!!"

"Howling WereWolf cutlets?" Zantos and Yume looked at each other and grimaced. "Ewwwww..........."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Ah well. Sorry about how unrelated this chapter is to the actual story, but my plot bunnies have frozen over and I'm still thawing the poor little guys out. *stokes fire below large ice block containing plot bunnies*

Merry Christmas 2003, all!

= * = * = * =


	5. Chapter Pathetic: You Will Hate Me For T...

CHAPITRE DE PATHÉTIQUE: You Will Hate Me For This

"Is this *really* necessary?"

"Yup away, Volanzo my man." Zantos flipped through a few pages of the script. "You come in on this chapter, and according to the script, you're half Mazoku half Dragon."

"...Whatever." Volanzo prodded disgustedly at a black rubber reptilian arm. "My arm's gonna stink after this is over."

"Get over it. This is your grand debut, man!"

Erin, Sophia, Kyoko and Kale sat in a small circle, playing poker. Sarito poured himself a glass of water before checking his watch. "Howling WereWolf's late."

"We noted." Erin drew the Queen of Hearts from her deck. "Hey! Muse Boy! What's taking the chieftain so long?"

Zantos frowned. "Quit calling me Muse Boy."

"Since Muse Boy upsets you so much....." Ren helped herself to a Twinkie. "Hey! Severely-In-Need-Of-A-Life Psycho Boy! What's taking the chieftain so long?"

Zantos groaned and slapped his forehead. "Why do I even try?!"

Elayne and Donal sat on the edge of a table, passing a bottle of cola back and forth.

"She probably ran into a traffic jam." Donal commented.

"Nah, she probably ran into a lorry and caused a traffic jam." Elayne raised the bottle and took a swig of cola.

"Well, at least I'll get a decent snack before filming starts." Kiru squatted beside a pit with a flatfish at hand. Oblivious to the fact that Rezaru was too close to the pit, he ignited a fire.

Rezaru rumbled with pleasure. "Mmmm.......now that's warm......"

"REZ!!! WAKE UP!!!! YOUR TAIL'S ON FIRE!!!!!" Erin hollered across the room.

Rezaru woke with a startled yelp and zoomed off to the water dispenser.

The door swung open.

Sean walked in with a large rolled up bill at hand. "Okay. Pack it up, guys. You can go home."

"WHAT?! WHY?!"

Sean pulled out a small slip of paper from his pocket.

"**_Distinguished readers and characters alike: Due to many complications that have cropped up recently, I, Howling WereWolf, am unable to update Slayers: X Generation as soon as promised. Deep regrets are shown for the lack of inactivity that will be quite obvious in the very near future. Until the crisis is over, all things will have to wait. Signed ~ LENG the Howling WereWolf_**"

"....What's that mean?"

"It means....." Sean unrolls the bill. "_**SLAYERS: X GENERATION IS BEING PUT ON HOLD UNTIL FURTHER NOTIC**_**_E_**." He sticks it up to reveal the words "**NOT CONTINUED AS OF NOW**" in big red letters. Then he walks out and shuts the door again.

"So much for my 'grand debut'..." Volanzo starts to tug at his prop arm. "Can anyone help me get this thing off?"


End file.
